The use of calendars to manage time and appointments is well known in the art. The need for handling multiple tasks and appointments is found in many different types of situations. Situations where people face numerous appointments are thus difficult to manage. Examples of such situations that are difficult to manage are found in sales workplaces requiring multiple client visits and in a home where a person must self-administer many different types of medications.
Typical calendars fall into three general categories: preprinted paper, dry-erase boards, and computer software. The first two require a person to manually transcribe with pen or pencil the appointments and tasks onto a surface area, while the third type requires a computer for use and enjoyment.
The problem with manually transcribing information on a preprinted paper calendar is that the information often times will not fit within the finite space provided by a calendar. Additionally, with preprinted paper calendars when appointments and tasks are rescheduled or recurring they must be written out once again. Finally, with preprinted paper calendars, a person runs the risk of overlooking appointments or tasks once the information in the portioned area becomes too voluminous.
Like preprinted paper calendars, the second category, dry-erase boards, present some of the same limitations, especially as problems relate to a finite area of space within which to record information. Admittedly, one improvement of dry-erase boards over preprinted paper calendars is that a person can remove and re-record information faster than with a preprinted paper calendar. Nonetheless dry-erase boards still require rescheduled or recurring appointments or tasks are written out one at a time. Finally, dry-erase boards present two problems unique from preprinted paper calendars. First, ink on a dry erase board will often times smudge, contributing to confusion. Second, when ink on dry-erase boards is erased a bothersome residue is often left behind, potentially damaging clothing or at the very least presenting a nuisance by amassing on a person's skin.
The third general category of calendars, computer software, offers some distinct improvements over earlier preprinted paper and dry-erase boards. Much more information can be stored within a certain space on a computer software calendar, displays can be manipulated according to the preference of the user, and recurring appointments are recorded with relative ease. However, computer software calendars are limited in two areas: the overall monthly or yearly view of the calendar is constrained by the size of the computer's monitor, and the use and enjoyment of the computer software calendar requires that the user has already made a costly economic investment—the purchase of a computer.
A calendar that is designed to hold standard business cards or pre-printed appointment cards in a pocket corresponding to the due date is not found in the prior art.